Date Published: 09/18/11

Jonathan meets World Leaders in New York Tuesday

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan will leave Abuja for New York Tuesday  to participate in the 66th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and thereafter hold bilateral sessions with other world leaders.

According to a Presidency statement issued in Abuja, on Sunday, the president, who would be accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Environment, Health, Justice, Petroleum and Power, was also scheduled to participate in a high-level meeting on desertification, land degradation and drought, which would be hosted by the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Mr Ban Ki-Moon, on Tuesday.

Jonathan will deliver his statement to the General Assembly on Wednesday and confer with several world leaders on the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and their countries.

The statement said that, in addition to attending a reception to be hosted by President Barack Obama of the United States in New York, he was scheduled to meet with President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil,

President Sebastian Pinera of Chile, President Mahinda Rajapaska of Sri Lanka, President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic, President Pal Schmitt of Hungary, President Mikhail Shaskashvili of Georgia and President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, as well as Prime Minister Pedro Coelho of Portugal and Japan’s new Prime Minister, Mr. Yoshihiko Noda.